Adam returned to the colony at last. A little bruised and battered, a faint scorch across his carapace, and a dull crack running down his left mandible. The familiar scent of damp soil and sweet fungal spores enveloped him like a blanket. Joy and relief flooded the chamber. His limbs trembled, not from weakness, but from the subtle echo of adrenaline still coursing through him.
As soon as he crossed the main tunnel, a rush of bodies surrounded him. Ants swarmed from every direction. They pressed close, their antennae brushing his legs, their emotions almost tangible in the atmosphere. All quivering with the scents of relief and warmth, all at once.
"Adam! You're back!" Mira's voice cracked through the crowd, high and trembling, her tone soaked in reassurance. She pushed forward, nearly tripping over the other ants as she clung to him. "I thought you… you were gone, Mister Giant!" Her voice faltered, the words breaking. "The tunnels shook so much, we thought…"
Adam exhaled, the vibration of his voice calm and low. "Hey… I'm still here," he said softly, his mandibles shifting into something that almost resembled a smile. "You don't need to cry for me, Mira. I'm not going anywhere."
Her antennae twitched. "Promise?"
"I promise."
Brill chimed in next, his tone overexaggerated and shaky. "Y-you should've seen it, the whole ground rumbled! I thought the ceiling was gonna collapse on us!" His attempt at humor only made his look more nervous. That same bitter tinge of fear he'd had since the day the "spider" from his nightmares attacked.
Adam chuckled faintly. "You all worry too much. I'm fine. Really."
Still, the sight of his cracked plating drew worried murmurs.
But first. He turned towards the chamber, his gaze fixing on the Mana Core. The spider's corpse still hung from the silken threads he'd dragged home, limbs stiff and twisted. "It's time to claim my reward."
He lowered the body in front of the Core. Immediately, faint lines of light bled from the corpse, threading toward the glowing crystal. But unlike before, whenever he would offer them to the core, these weren't blue, they burned crimson, pulsating uncontrollably in the air.
"Red?" Norkk whispered.
Every ant watched, silent. The chamber pulsed in eerie rhythm, red light streaking across the stone walls, washing the chamber in a bloodlike hue. For a brief moment, it was ghostly beautiful. But at the moment the line touched the core.
The lines faded. The light died. Nothing happened.
No panel. No message. No reward.
Adam blinked, his antennae twitching sharply. "What?" His tone slipped, disbelief seeping through.
"That can't be right."
He waited, a second, two, ten. Still nothing. He slammed a limb against the stone. "Why isn't it giving me my skills?" He was frustrated, and rightfully so. Tand not get o risk everything and not get anything felt criminal.
Opening the Core's library panel, to search for the reason behind this injustice. Adam sees new words scroll across the glowing interface.
[Core Library Updated]
Genus: Therisnathra
Class: Arachnida (Evolved Variant)
Web Composition: Triple-layered silicate threads reinforced with organic chitin fibers. Strength ratio surpassing standard silk by 300%. Yet can be broken easily by tiny amounts of mana.
Venom Type: Hemocrysin-X, a neurotoxin that causes mild hallucinations and fatigue upon contact. Venom danger scale: 2
Fang Length: 7.2 Skavians.
[Measurement Conversion Complete]7.2 Skavians → 0.36 Ant Meters
Behavior: Predatory ambusher.
Observed Affinity: Unknown. Traces of corrupted mana linked to Entity Azarakh.
Adam's gaze flickered as he read the next line.
Addendum (Log 67):
"Azarakh, a rage-born entity once of flesh and mind, now reduced to hatred and hunger. Known among the crimson brood as the Blood Arachnid. His mana burns red. This will eventually drive the user to madness. Those who follow his threads share his ruin. Truly a waste of potential. I wonder if his red mana can be controlled. I should capture more of his kind."— Log 67
Adam froze."…Wait. This was written by someone."
He scrolled again. The weird units of measurements, "Skavians", and the "log 67", the writing, the tone it carried, it was far from the system's code.
He stared into the core; its faint blue light reflected in his eyes. "Could someone have lived with you before me?" he muttered under his breath. "But… who? I've never seen any bones. No remains. Nothing."
The thought sent a strange tremor down his spine. Could it have been another like him, someone who fell into this world before he did? Someone who'd already tried to understand it?
His gaze lingered on the red stain still smeared across the spider's corpse. "Maybe… there are other types of mana. Each belonging to an entity. That must be why the core refused to absorb it, as it considered it dangerous and unstable. Though this begs the question; what entity does the core belong to, all it is in and of itself... an entity."
Something warm and small brushed his limb. He looked down. Mira had fallen asleep against him, her tiny form curled like a hatchling seeking warmth. Soon after, Brill, Zell, Skitt, and even Norkk lay beside him, one after another. The chamber slowly filled with soft clicks, quiet breathing, and the faint scent of tiredness.
Adam smiled faintly. "Yeah," he whispered. "I'll think about this later. The Core's not going anywhere."
He yawned, his body sinking into the soft, earthy floor. No matter how hard he has tried, something feels off. He's been getting too tired lately, filled with fatigue that can't be explained. The faint hum of the core pulsed like a lullaby, slowly drifting him to another realm.
As his vision dimmed, his mind drifted toward a quiet thought. "Man… I'd kill for a steak right now."
Then, with the bittersweet ache of memory tugging at him, Adam closed his eyes and let the darkness engulf him.